Terms of Business and Auction

  1. The Plückbaum Auction House publicly auctions on behalf of and for account of the consignor.
     
  2. All items up for auction can be viewed and inspected at the indicated times. The catalogue information was produced to the best of our knowledge and belief. However, it cannot be considered a guarantee in the legal sense and is for information purposes only. It is therefore not part of the contractually agreed condition. The same applies to information of any kind, be it in written or oral form. Condition reports relating to the items do not constitute additional individually negotiated terms, but are merely a subjective valuation of the Plückbaum Auction House. Since the condition of the items is not referred to consistently in the catalogue, an absence of information does not constitute an agreement on quality. The items are sold in the condition they were in at the time of acceptance of the bid. The Plückbaum Auction House does not assume liability for obvious or hidden defects, provided that no deliberate intention or gross negligence is shown to exist. Claims against the consignors are excluded provided that they are private individuals. For professional buyers, claims become time-barred one year after conclusion of the purchase contract.
     
  3. Bidding generally starts at the minimum bidding price indicated in the catalogue. The call up amount is determined by the auctioneer; bids follow at 10% increases. The bid is awarded to the highest bidder if, after three calls on a bid, no higher bid is offered. The auctioneers are entitled to reserve the right to accept or reject a bid. In the event of doubts concerning the acceptance of a bid the, the auctioneers have the right to withdraw acceptance and to re-auction the item. If a bid is accepted with reservation, the bidder is bound to his bid for a period of three weeks. The auctioneers reserve the right to separate and to combine catalogue numbers and, if there is a specific reason, to call them up out of order or withdraw them.
     
  4. Should several persons offer the same bid at the same time and should three requests to offer a higher bid remain unsuccessful, acceptance is decided by lot.
     
  5. Bidders are obliged to take over items knocked down on them. Upon acceptance of a bid, the possession of the sold items and risk are transferred to the purchaser immediately; the ownership is not transferred until full payment has been received. Items not paid for may not be removed from the auction venue.
     
  6. A premium of 20% of the bid is charged. This includes the statutory value added tax of 19%. The successful bidder must pay the final amount (bid + premium) immediately after acceptance in cash in euros to the Plückbaum Auction House. Despite the fact that payment is due immediately, payment received from external bidders within ten days after receipt of the invoice is not deemed delayed. Invoices produced during or immediately after the auction require verification, errors excepted.
     
  7. The buyer is not entitled to make deductions from the purchase money or to set off counter-claims. Should payment not be rendered immediately to the auction house or should acceptance of the purchased item be refused, the item will not be delivered to the buyer; instead, the buyer forfeits his rights arising from the acceptance of his bid, and the item may be auctioned again at his expense. In this case, the buyer is liable for any loss, but is not entitled to any increased proceeds. He is not allowed to offer another bid.
     
  8. In the event of delayed payment of the purchase amount, the buyer must pay 10% default interest from the due date and must provide compensation for any damage caused by default and any reminders. The auction house is authorized to exercise any rights from the consignors arising from their auction requests and the acceptances of bids on behalf of the consignors. For all obligations of the buyer, the place of fulfillment is the registered place of business of the auction house.
     
  9. The buyers are obliged to pick up the auctioned items immediately after the auction or within ten days for external customers. The Plückbaum Auction House is not obliged to pack, store or ship any items. We provide shipping only at explicit request of the buyers and always at the buyers' expense and risk. The Plückbaum Auction House is entitled to store items that are not picked up within four weeks after the auction at a forwarding company on behalf of and for the account of the successful bidder. The Plückbaum Auction House does not assume liability for loss of or damage to items not picked up by the successful bidders or items that were not handed over to them due to outstanding payment, except for proven cases of deliberate intention or gross negligence.
     
  10. The exclusive place of fulfillment and place of jurisdiction for businessmen (Vollkaufmänner) is Bonn. German law applies excluding the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.
     
  11. By participating in the auction, the bidder accepts the terms of business and auction. These terms also apply analogously to private sales. Should one or more of these terms be invalid in whole or in part, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining terms.


Auktionshaus Plückbaum GmbH   •   General Managers: Dr. Brigitte Plückbaum-Burgardt, Ulrich Burgardt
(publicly appointed and sworn as auctioneers by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Bonn)

You can also download our terms of business. The file is available as a PDF. In case you do not have the Adobe Reader necessary for reading the file, you can download it for free at Adobe.